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March Madness: Is Cinderella Dead?
16 Mar
Summary
- All four No. 1 seeds reached the Final Four in the 2025 tournament.
- The 2008 NCAA tournament also saw all top seeds advance.
- NIL and the transfer portal may be impacting tournament upsets.

The landscape of college basketball tournaments is under scrutiny as the 2026 March Madness approaches. A prominent question centers on whether the Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) policies and the transfer portal have effectively eliminated the possibility of Cinderella stories.
This concern is amplified by the results of the 2025 NCAA tournament, where all four No. 1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. This outcome mirrored the 2008 tournament, a season notable for Derrick Rose's collegiate career.
Given the dominance displayed by the current top-seeded teams heading into the 2026 tournament, there is a considerable likelihood that the trend of top seeds advancing could continue, potentially diminishing the excitement of unexpected upsets.




